Asbury baseball/softball updates (as of 4/9)

I realize that I haven’t done a good job on here covering baseball and softball thus far, but with the Colts going to Rupp, bad weather and a vacation, it’s been slim pickins all around from me for both of those teams. So here’s an update on where both teams stand with about four weeks left in the season.

Baseball: 13-15, 2-1 KIAC

A few shoulda, coulda, woulda losses have kept this team under .500 for the last couple of weeks, the most surprising of which was a four-game sweep by UC-Clermont March 20 and 21. Pick up three of those like the Eagles probably should have, and the record stands at 16-12 with six very winnable games against Alice Lloyd and Berea coming up. Alas, it will be an uphill battle for Asbury to finish the season with a winning record, which I thought was very possible this season looking at the roster and the schedule.

There have been a couple of disappointments on the pitching side of the roster. Most notably, sophomore William Blackburn, who led the team in 2008 with a 4.76 ERA, has not made a start yet in 2009 after shoulder troubles and has been relegated to nine relief innings in which he has given up 12 runs. Twins Jon Wes and Gardner Adams, two more of Asbury’s most reliable pitchers last season, both have ERAs in the 9.00 area and have also been used primarily out of the bullpen. Greg Bowling is having a monster season with a 2.71 ERA, but he isn’t getting any run support, as evidenced by his 1-2 record.The team ERA is down from last year, however, from 7.37 to 6.92.

On the offensive side, junior catcher Zach Monroe is killing the ball, bashing 11 homeruns en route to an absurd 1.136 OPS. He had just seven homers all of last season. His batting average has been cut almost in half, though, from last season, down from .474 to .243 this year. Blake Englehardt is playing well in his full-time role, leading the team with a .375 avg. and eight doubles. When Mark Deetsch isn’t pitching, he’s delivering at the plate, batting .366/.480/512. The team BA has gone down 23 points from last season, to .274 from .297.

As I said before, the Eagles do have six winnable games coming up before facing the top two teams in the KIAC in IU-Southeast and Brescia for six, and then Asbury will end its season at Georgetown. The Eagles have to win eight of those 13 games to head into the conference tournament above .500. Assuming they take care of business and win five of six against Berea and ALC, that means the Eagles have to scrap out three wins in seven games against three very good clubs.

Update: Asbury swept Alice Lloyd in yesterday’s doubleheader, 11-4, 7-6. The Eagles trailed almost the entire second game before tying it up 5-5 on Bob Silvanik’s balk play in the sixth (which I will explain in detail later). Josh Cummins gave up a run in the top of the eighth, but Danny Olszowy hit the game-winning double in the bottom of the frame. That puts the Eagles at 15-15, 4-1 heading into four games at Berea this weekend.

Softball: 8-8, 2-2 KIAC

Having a first-year softball team at 8-8 mid-way through the season is no small feat, especially when you are working with just two pitchers. The Eagles also have three impressive wins on their resume, over Kentucky State, Brescia and Midway. Twelve of their final 22 games come against teams that are lower in the conference standings. A .500 record seems like a real possibility, which is better than I would have ever guessed from the group of freshmen.

With third pitcher Danielle Jennings out with a shoulder injury, both Carrie Wilderman and Stephanie Wade have been stellar in picking up the slack, being forced to go the length nearly every time they step on the mound. Wilderman’s record stands at just 3-6, but she has posted a 2.61 ERA in her 51 innings of work with 27 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Wade has been almost as good, boasting a 4-1 record to go along with a 3.18 ERA. She has struck out 24 batters and walked 11 in her 44 innings.

As if pitching isn’t enough for the duo, both players are in the top two hitters on the team. Wilderman is having a video game year at the plate, batting .514/.564/1.029 with five homeruns and 14 RBIs, both team highs. Wade has a .400 average with a team-high nine doubles. Emily Ethington is batting .408 with nine RBIs and 20 hits, most on the team.

The Eagles have a great shot at finishing with a winning record and possibly in the top half of the KIAC if they can take over IUS for the third-place spot. They will try to make headway toward that goal tomorrow night in a home doubleheader aginst the Grenadiers.

Update: The Eagles won two on the road Wednesday at St. Catherine’s College and then dropped two at home last night to IUS. Their overall record moves to 10-10, while they fell to fifth place in the conference at 2-4.